


what could have been

by nerdytardis



Category: DCU, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Study, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 18:05:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11628993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdytardis/pseuds/nerdytardis
Summary: Bruce asks Clark about his tattoo.  Even without the whole truth, a connection is made.A short moment about dreams and finding happiness





	what could have been

**Author's Note:**

> i have no excuse for this except for the fact that i love both of them so much? ??  
> set in an au where they aren't batman/superman, and bruce doesn't know that clark is kryptonian
> 
> thanks for reading!

“What does it mean?”

Clark shivered a little as Bruce’s fingers moved across his bicep, lightly traced the tattoo. 

“It’s—” The truth was too difficult to explain.  There was too much to say all at once, and too many other things that needed to be explained first.

He used to fall back on it being a band logo, from a group that no one’s heard of.  Or just shrug it off as a drunken dare. But—those lies never settled well.  It always felt like he was abandoning them, the people who sent him here.   _His_ people. 

And he didn’t want to lie to Bruce. 

For a moment, he was tempted to just say it all, in one big swoop. 

But he knew how that would go over.  Bruce would stare at him with those intense, dark eyes, already pulling himself back behind his walls, shutting Clark out. 

No.  He didn’t know if he could stand that.   

“It’s a family thing.”

Bruce was still tracing the symbol.  “Kent doesn’t have an S in it.” 

“Well,” Clark moved a little so that he could look up at Bruce better.  “It’s not really—it’s not just a letter.”

Bruce made one of his noncommittal noises, the ones that Clark was finally starting to understand.

“It’s a family symbol, a crest, from my—” Clark bit his lip for a moment, “From my biological family.”

Bruce shifted a little, the only sign he gave of his surprise.  “You never said you were adopted.”

“I was a baby.” Clark said simply, “I never knew them.”

A long pause drew between them, filled with only the quiet sounds of the old house settling and of their own mirrored breaths. 

“Do you ever think about what could have been?”

There was a note to Bruce’s words, a sadness.  He was thinking of his own years that never were. 

“Yes.” Clark said, wanting more than ever to really explain, “I think about it all the time.”  A brief flash of a familiar dream, faded like an old photograph from all the times he’d imagined it, came to him.

It was a dream of a planet, of a people he would never see.  Of a family he never knew and a culture that had been lost forever, even as he lived on.

The slight scratch of Bruce's stumble against his face pulled Clark back.  He smiled, the gentle kiss to his brow a soft and perfect reminder of the joy he was lucky enough to find, despite everything else.

Curling in closer to the other man, Clark tucked the faded dream away in his mind for later.  For now, he was more than happy with the warmth of reality. 

**Author's Note:**

> if you want some more sad, emotional clark, check out s1e2 of justice league unlimited, it's a real killer
> 
> anyway, i hoped you enjoyed this!


End file.
